Alternatives To Thailand (are There Better Places To Live And Spend Our Money?)

[JR Texas]

JR Texas (51, American....don't shoot! living in China): "Blackjack" suggested a new topic: "Alternatives to Thailand." Given what is going down, I think there are likely many expats out there who want an alternative place to live and spend their money. I will start with a short list of possible retirement havens, not including countries that are obviously expensive to live in (e.g., Singapore, Switzerland): Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, China, Panama, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Croatia. This is my list, I am sure you have your own. I am busy now. Later I will say something about Panama (high on my list). I can also say something about Chile, China and India. What about visa, immigration, retirement rules in these countries? How easy is it to set up a small business? Can you own it 100%? Can you own land? Is the scenary beautiful? Is the country politically stable? Are expats encouraged to live in the country? How does the country compare with Thailand? These are some of the questions I would like answers to. I am not a lawyer or a specialist in immigration rules and regulations. Maybe Sunbelt can assist with some of the regional countries or contact lawyers in the other countries for input. I think this would be a productive topic for many readers.

BEST WISHES AS ALWAYS! (Hey Blackjack, I saw your pictures on the gallery and if that is your condo on Jomtien beach I used to live right next to you on 15th floor.........great view......one of the good things about Thailand)

JR Texas

p.s., The Sovereign Society has good information about retirment havens.

[tropo]

JR Texas (51, American....don't shoot! living in China): "Blackjack" suggested a new topic: "Alternatives to Thailand." Given what is going down, I think there are likely many expats out there who want an alternative place to live and spend their money. I will start with a short list of possible retirement havens, not including countries that are obviously expensive to live in (e.g., Singapore, Switzerland): Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, China, Panama, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Croatia. This is my list, I am sure you have your own. I am busy now. Later I will say something about Panama (high on my list). I can also say something about Chile, China and India. What about visa, immigration, retirement rules in these countries? How easy is it to set up a small business? Can you own it 100%? Can you own land? Is the scenary beautiful? Is the country politically stable? Are expats encouraged to live in the country? How does the country compare with Thailand? These are some of the questions I would like answers to. I am not a lawyer or a specialist in immigration rules and regulations. Maybe Sunbelt can assist with some of the regional countries or contact lawyers in the other countries for input. I think this would be a productive topic for many readers.

BEST WISHES AS ALWAYS! (Hey Blackjack, I saw your pictures on the gallery and if that is your condo on Jomtien beach I used to live right next to you on 15th floor.........great view......one of the good things about Thailand)

JR Texas

p.s., The Sovereign Society has good information about retirment havens.

You're right, it's a hot topic right now and I'm researching it extensively.

A few more good options not on your list:

Mexico (180 day tourist cards for many nations)

Costa Rica (90 days free for many nations)

Brazil (90 days free for many nations)

Here's some input as to the cost of living in some of these countries.

These are figures obtained from the CIA factbook (updated October 17, 2006) by dividing the GDP (official exchange rate) by the GDP (purchasing power parity) for these various countries which gives a very good idea of what your money will buy in these countries.

The percentage figures given (rounded to nearest percent) are the percentage of cost of living compared to the US.

Cambodia 15% the cost of living in the US

Thailand 33%

Philippines 20%

Malaysia 42%

Indonesia 31%

Vietnam 19%

Laos 21%

Burma 9.5% (not that anyone will be residing here...but an interesting comparison)

Hong Kong 76%

Singapore 89%

China 25%

India 20%

Sri Lanka 25%

Croatia 63%

Mexico 65%

Costa Rica 43%

Panama 65%

Brazil 40%

Argentina 35%

Chili 62%

Uraguay 40%

Ecuador 54%

For interest only:

UK 121%

Norway 127%

Sweden 130%

Germany 109%

France 113%

The Netherlands 116%

Spain 99%

Italy 101%

Portugal 83%

Greece 86%

Switzerland 152% (ouch!)

Russia 47%

Ukraine 22%

Australia 96%

NZ 93%

South Africa 35%

Japan 116%

UAE (Dubai) 88%

The abolute lowest that I came across was Burma (9.5%) which was even cheaper than all of the poorest African nations.

If Burma ever manages to put together a stable government, it could become the place to be with almost 2000 km of Indian Ocean coastline.

[jbaldwin]

These are interesting figures.

I have spent some time in Malaysia and the Philippines.

To me Malaysia seems a cheaper place to live than Thailand but on your figures is 27% more expensive. The Philippines seems about the same or a bit more expensive but your figures show 40% cheaper.

Some of this might be regional differences (in the Philippine I only generally been to tourist areas). Also my spend patterns are not likely to be very similar to locals

Having said all this I think this is as good a set of figures than any. Suggest that all American options (eg Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica) are more expensive than Thailand

[tropo]

These are interesting figures.

I have spent some time in Malaysia and the Philippines.

To me Malaysia seems a cheaper place to live than Thailand but on your figures is 27% more expensive. The Philippines seems about the same or a bit more expensive but your figures show 40% cheaper.

Some of this might be regional differences (in the Philippine I only generally been to tourist areas). Also my spend patterns are not likely to be very similar to locals

Having said all this I think this is as good a set of figures than any. Suggest that all American options (eg Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica) are more expensive than Thailand

From my brief visit to Malaysia, I thought it was about as cheap as Thailand, but as you said, these figures are really cost of living figures for locals and not tourists.

In the Philippines too, there is a big difference between tourist resorts and local areas. I pay a lot more rent in Thailand than in the Philippines ....however tourist accommodation appears to be cheaper in Thailand because of greater competition.

It's difficult to see the difference unless a detailed study is undertaken...which of course CIA does. These figures are calculated through costing a "basket of goods and services" in each respective country.

[sbk]

Interestingly enough, there is already quite an extensive thread discussing this issue in the General section, which is, IMO, the place it belongs. This forum is for people with visa questions about Thailand.

Please see this thread for further discussion and feel free to post in there. thanks

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